If I had to sum today’s show up, the theme of it would be free. Sure, it never costs you to listen to the number one Web hosting podcast out there today - on today’s show though we are going to be talking about a Web hosting giveaway, content management systems and a little news and advice thrown in as well. The Web Hosting Show is now on the air.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Podcast 81!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.77 MB

Hello I am Mitch Keeler, your digital daddy when it comes to the wild and wacky world of Web hosting, and you are listening to the voice of the Web hosting world, the Web Hosting Show. Just like every week before it, this podcast is brought to you by the fine folks at WebHostingChat.com so give them a visit and tell them you like what I am trying to do here.

Alright, I have some advice for any Web host or anybody thinking about becoming a Web host. When it comes to advertising yourself out there in the world, try to do it with a little class. Here lately I have seen more and more Web hosts “invading” other Web hosts’ forums so they can put in a plug for themselves.

Now this isn’t just a bad idea, it is also tacky and rude. How would you like it if I came knocking on your door, shoved you out of the way and wrote WebHostingShow.com really big across your living room walls? You would be pretty mad right? Well these folks that come in and invade a Web host with another Web hosts’ ads are in the same camp.

Now I know these folks can’t be thinking they are going to get people to sign up this way. So where do they get “paid” in all of this? Well they hope that the forums moderators aren’t watching and they get some free links back when the search engines crawl the Web site. That way they get a little Google Page Rank juice off of you and rise in the ranks Online.

My best advice for anybody wanting to do something like this? Don’t. There are better ways of getting yourself known. You are not getting clients this way - you are only getting enemies.

Web Hosting News and Views

FastServers Adds Affiliate Program

Managed hosting provider FastServers.Net announced on Thursday that it has teamed with advertising group Commission Junction to introduce an outsourced affiliate marketing program.

FastServers will implement Commission Junction’s affiliate marketing service, designed to manage and optimize advertisers’ affiliate channels using its network of more than 50,000 publishers. According to FastServers, the company will pay affiliates 100 percent of the first month’s fees for all conversions. Its products range from $200 to $5,000 per month, with average recurring revenue per customer of $500.

I am a big fan of FastServers.Net, and this sounds like a great marketing idea. For any Web host out there, if you haven’t looked into setting up your own affiliate program, you should. It is a great way to make your customers work for you - having them find more customers.

In return, you pay them a little ‘bit of a finders fee. In the highly competitive Web hosting industry we find ourselves in today - any way to get a leg up on the competition is a good one. Don’t be afraid to part with some of your profits, because you might be gaining more than you are loosing in the long run of things.

+ Click Here to Listen to Our Interview With Ian Andrusyk of FastServers.Net!

Web Hosting Site of the Week

This Wednesday is not just going to be any Wednesday - you know why? From now, till I hope many years from now it is going to be Web Hosting Wednesday! No, I didn’t hit my head again, that is the name of our Web hosting site of the week for this week.

WebHostingWednesday.com is giving away a Web hosting account every single Wednesday. What do you have to do? To get in the drawing - all you need to do is pay one dollar. As the Web site says, “Get 2Gb of Disk Space and 32Gb of Bandwidth for a buck”. I say that is a pretty good deal.

I really love this idea because it is something new and different for the Web hosting world to sink it’s teeth into. When it comes to Web hosting, new ideas are not exactly a dime a dozen, so check this Web site out; and when you do make sure you let them know that the Web Hosting Show sent you there.

Web Hosting Tip of the Week

When it comes to content management systems to run your Web sites, there are many choices out there. Now these days it seems like people are going one of two ways though. Many years ago, MovableType used to be the way to go. Now that they are too expensive and bloated though - two new free solutions have come our way. Both Joomla and WordPress are two good suggestions, and probably the two most used When it comes to an engine that runs the back end of your Web site.

Remember these are just two out of many choices you have out there. For more choices, check out OpenSourceCMS.com. These folks have put together one heck of a nice resource when it comes to finding a good open source content management system. For each script, they have a download link, and also some demos of the administration panel and the script in action.

There are plenty of portals to choose from on the Web site, so why not give it a look? You might find an engine that inspires you to create the next great Web hosting resource! Just make sure it isn’t a Web hosting podcast - that’s my gig.

Final Web Hosting Thoughts

Well that is it for this week’s edition of the Web Hosting Show. If you want to interact with this podcast, it is easy to do.

+ Send me your audio questions or comments!

+ Go post on the Web Hosting Show’s Fan Forums!

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I am Mitch Keeler, and you have been listening to the Web Hosting Show, the number one Web hosting podcast across the nation and the one and only voice of the Web hosting world.

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